First Week in NC

Intro

Quotes from the week:

"I think learning a foreign language would crush my will to live." Elder W, A really funny Elder in MTC district... (I kinda agree with him. But good luck to all of you out there who are going to learn one. I really admire you)

"If we stand for Him, He will stand with us." I love this quote so much. As a missionary I have to stand up for Jesus Christ and His doctrine. In return, He promises that I will not be left alone. The power I feel as being a missionary of Jesus Christ is unparalleled.

"If we believe in Christ, it will change what we think, what we say, and what we do." If you really do believe in Christ, let it take over your life. Make sure you are making choices that would be in accordance to your belief and faith in Jesus Christ. :)

Companion

My companion is named Sister B from Utah! She is blonde, beautiful, and very athletic. She is so hardworking and we get along great. She is 21, but submitted her papers a week after the annoncement (when she was 20), and left a month later. She has been out for about 8 months and she will hit her half-way mark with me! She is such a great example to me and she helps me stay motivated in working out, scripture study, and all aspects of our missionary work.

 (Hopefully my mommy posted a picture of us on our first day meeting each other at my very first transfer meeting.)

Area

Sister B and I work with the Durham xxx ward. We LOVE THEM! We are opening up the area (sister missionaries have not been in this ward for many years, if at all) and it has been great. We have been so blessed to get so much from the ward for our new LOVELY apartment. We live in a really nice place. It has gym that we get to work out in (which is so nice cuz working out in the humidity is an interesting experience). It even has valet trash. So we put our trash out at night and they pick it up. It is sooooooooo sweet (oh wait- we can only say sweet in terms of something that is literally sweet hehe).

Funny story to make fun of me for: Our first dinner with a ward family... The A's. Anyway, I said the prayer for dinner and I forgot how to pronounce their name and ended up blessing the home of the "aloe veras" home. Anyone see any sun relief lotion/gel around? Not me. Just a nice lil North Carolina-ion family. LOL. But they didn't mind too much. LOL. Imagine me speaking another language (refer to first quote).

Okay... So guess what... A member in the ward drove us around one night and showed us some places like the grocery store, library, etc. ANYWAY... she showed us this AMAZING mall that is in our area. It is like extremely nice. Who would have thought? She was like what, "Did you think we were complete hicks?" It was hilarous. Not that we can shop that much but it is is sooo comforting to know that it is there. There is Nordstroms, Macy's, Maggianos, Cheesecake Factory... Such good stuff. I love it. We went there to look for Sister Beech to get a "biking skirt" and to eat lunch. It was a marvelous preparation day (we aren't allowed to shorten preparation day to "p-day")

We got to go to a baptism on my first Saturday in Durham. It was of a kind girl named Rl. The Elders that we work with taught her and she accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such a beautiful day. Sister B and I get to teach her the new member lessons and we are so excited to get to know her more fully. I felt the Spirit so strong as I witnessed such a beautiful daughter of God chose the path to follow her Savior Jesus Christ.

We taught our first investigator lesson with a woman nicknamed "R." She is a great girl about 20 years old. She thinks it is so weird that we are on missions so young but she is truly looking for a true church to go to because she has not been able to find one that she likes. WE were like---- WE CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT. She is actually a referral from the Elders in our area. They met her at Waffle House, where she works. She said if she comes to know our church is true, then she will get baptized on October 12th, so we are working towards that. She is so kind and funny too. She really has had a good relationship with God in the past and we hope to be able to help her feel that love from God again.

We visit many less-active members. They are all very kind to us. The whole ward was so excited to get sister missionaries and so many people are so supportive of what we are doing.

We are also working with someone named Sarah. She has been investigating the Church for so long, but never with Sisters. We are going to her house to do service this week. She reallllllllyyyy needs our help. She's somewhat (understatement) of a hoarder.

Okay, missionary work is fantastic. The Church is true. Rely on prayer and the scriptures. Then your life will improve. Thanks for all the support.

I love you!